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The journey home

Wednesday 15 November (Day Fifty-nine)

And here it is. The last morning and the journey home.  Getting ready to leave went more smoothly than for any other journey i can remember. I finished my last-minute packing, made the sandwiches, packed the lunch things and then out of the door.

Cases in the lobby
Cases in the lobby

As expected, there were no seats on the bus as we sped along for the twenty-minute journey to Porta Susa. This was where we got on.

Porta Susa looked a bit more friendly today, although we grappled with where to go and when. I messaged Liat to come meet us. I had a bag full of perishables from the fridge – and something had leaked out of the bag onto my jeans while we were travelling!

Porta Susa
Porta Susa

While waiting for her, Krish noticed that the station had meters to measure the solar power collected.

Solar power
Solar power

With about quarter of hour to spare, we were on the platform waiting for our first train of the day, to Paris.

Porta Susa platform
Porta Susa platform

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Last full day in Torino

Tuesday, 14 November (Day Fifty-eight)

A strange feeling waking up today and knowing this was it. There was nothing on the must-do list other than packing and last-minute chocolate purchases.

And today the view of the Alps was spectacular – clearer than I’ve ever seen

View from balcony on the last full day
View from balcony on the last full day

After packing for what seemed like an eternity, off to the market to get that chocolate. Also on the list some marrons glaces, and some lemon pasta. Done and dusted.

We picked up some octopus salad and pizza to eat today and then some fritto misto as a last minute whim. We were already dreaming of a curry in London!

Wood oven at Rondini
Wood oven at Rondini
Margarita Pizza at Rondini
Margarita Pizza at Rondini
Fritto misto
Fritto misto

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Back to the Consolata, to Cit Turin, and the 24 Hour Carrefour

Monday, 13 November (Day Fifty-seven)

Time is winding down. As it does.

Today we decided to go to Cit Turin, the area that Liat lives in. On the way I suggested Krish pop his head into la Santuaria della Consolata I told him my photos hadn’t done it justice and I wanted him to spend one minute looking in to see it for himself.

To my surprise, he did. And to my bigger surprise, the one minute turned into more than half an hour. Not surprisingly, he discovered and was fascinated by something that I hadn’t spent much time looking at. I almost hesitate to post the photos because in a way I feel they are intimate and sacred. But I am posting a few that I found sad or interesting.

These are little portraits maybe ten centimetres across and each depicts someone’s death. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t look away until finally I needed to take a break from what I found so poignant and private.

Portraits

Portraits
Portraits of death

I’m not a Catholic and don’t really understand the significance but I’m going to look it up and ask around.
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Il Gran Balon, and the Concertino dal Balconcino

Sunday, 12 November (Day Fifty-six)

Today was il Gran Balon!

I thought I might buy a few things but this didn’t happen. I considered some lovely baskets and then, because they weren’t from Italy but Senegal, I decided against it. I had also thought about buying an old Barbie doll but I  have more stuff than I need so that didn’t go into my bag either. At this part of the trip I was being mindful of what might fit in the suitcase.

Gran Balon
Gran Balon

Then we went to the Concertino dal Baloncino. It takes place on the Via Mercanti, a lovely little lane in the centre of Turin.  There are some beautiful old shops along here and I was amused by one that sold only Tiramisu.

Tiramisu Shop
Tiramisu Shop
Shop along Via Mercanti
Shop along Via Mercanti

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Moncalieri, and the mercato at Piazza Madam Cristina

Saturday, 11 November (Day Fifty-five)

Today we decided that we’d go Moncalieri. We’d seen a TV show where they were making tripe in the town square, and Liat had said she’d heard it was pretty. Saturday is a good day to travel to these little places since they will be a bit more lively than during the week during work hours.

To get to Moncalieri, we decided to do the whole journey by bus. We’d go to Piazza Madama Cristina in San Salvario and change to the longer bus ride up to Moncalieri.

At the piazza, we realised that we hadn’t yet checked this market out on a Saturday. one side has clothing and other merchandise and the other side has food. We headed for the food! And along the way we saw some curious sights.

Can you imagine this anywhere else?
Can you imagine this anywhere else?
Sign in San Salvario
Sign in San Salvario

It’s a quite lovely market. Much more compact than Porta Palazzo but I think the food looked a bit more fresh…or maybe it’s just the lack of confusion when there are so many less stalls.

Market at Madama Cristina
Market at Madama Cristina
Yellow lettuce
Yellow lettuce
Two kinds of artichokes
Two kinds of artichokes

The bus took us away from the city and past some very lovely hillside homes. And then we were there.
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